Steelcase warns 300 more Grand Rapids factory workers may lose jobs by end of February

GRAND RAPIDS -- Steelcase Inc. has warned 300 more factory workers in the Grand Rapids area they may lose their jobs by Feb. 27.

The office furniture manufacturer already issued warnings to another 300 local workers, and, last week, extended expiration dates for those warnings by a month to Feb. 13.

In all, 600 blue-collar workers at local plants have received the notices, company spokeswoman Jeanine Holquist said Monday.

Previously, the company also announced it was cutting 300 salaried jobs by the end of February, when the company's fiscal year ends.

The company did not specify where those jobs are, but Holquist said most white-collar jobs are located at the Grand Rapids headquarters.

The job cuts and warnings are necessary because of the sluggish office furniture market, she said.

"The company wants to make sure in this highly volatile market that we remain highly flexible," Holquist said.

"We hope we don't need to issue the layoffs."

The company's stock closed at a new 52-week low Tuesday at $4.86 on the New York Stock Exchange, down 16 cents. During the past 12 months, it has traded between $5 and $16.09 a share.

The company already announced it will close its Atlanta plant and shut down all its U.S. plants the week of Jan. 26 to trim costs.

In December, Steelcase said its third-quarter profits nearly evaporated, posting a slim $400,000, compared with a $31.3 million profit a year ago. Sales dropped 8.4 percent globally, to $811.3 million; while its North American sector fell 11.4 percent.

It is forecasting a loss in its final quarter that closes at the end of next month.